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  • Let's talk about dopamine.

  • People call it the chemical of want and desire, but why is that?

  • Well, here is how it works.

  • From an evolutionary standpoint,

  • your brain rewards you for anything that will increase your likelihood of survival

  • by releasing a neurotransmitter called "dopamine" in your brain.

  • That's the reason why it feels so damn good to have sex or to eat a steak,

  • because our brain thinks that sex equals a reproduction of our species

  • and that a fat piece of meat equals a long-lasting satiation.

  • Let's look at an example.

  • As soon as you're standing in front of your fridge,

  • and you have the choice to either pick a carrot or a piece of chocolate,

  • your brain will tell you to pick the one which releases more dopamine

  • as it knows that it will make you feel more pleasure.

  • So naturally you will choose the chocolate.

  • Now you might say "well, that's not too bad to eat a piece of chocolate every now and then"

  • and that's true. But as soon as our brain releases a lot of dopamine,

  • it will try to stimulate the craving for that thing over and over again

  • until you develop an urge for it,

  • and that's when the addiction kicks in and we can't live without it.

  • For this reason people become overweight, alcoholics or drug addicts.

  • The thing is that dopamine doesn't know what's good for us and what isn't.

  • It doesn't know that eating too much chocolate is unhealthy for us.

  • All it sees is a potential of pleasure without any context,

  • and for this reason drug addicts are willing to let their whole life fall apart,

  • only to get that one hit of dopamine again and again.

  • The terrifying reality is that almost every company in our modern society

  • exploits this deeply-rooted reward system by putting it on steroids.

  • There are millions of experts specifically designing their products and internet platforms

  • to release as much dopamine as possible

  • in order to make us come back over and over again.

  • That's why social media platforms switch from chronological feeds to an algorithm-based feed

  • and that's why video games have levels and ranking systems, to keep us coming back.

  • They give us constant dopamine hits

  • as we jump from one post to the next one and from one level to the next one,

  • and what makes it even easier for us to engage in social media,

  • junk food, porn, alcohol, drugs or any other source of instant gratification,

  • is that it doesn't take us any effort.

  • We simply have to consume and are instantly rewarded with massive hits of dopamine.

  • It's crazy to believe,

  • but we live in a world which is designed to stimulate our emotions

  • in order to maximize profits.

  • It is scientifically proven that dopamine has a direct influence

  • on the decisions we make and the actions we take.

  • That's why ultimately dopamine controls us on a daily basis

  • and that's why billions of people unconsciously focus their whole life on consuming

  • instead of creating the lives they actually want to live.

  • Alright. So, I honestly believe that this problem is much bigger than we think

  • and that every single person is impacted by it,

  • and that's why I want to tackle it by doing a 7-day dopamine detox

  • in order to change my relationship with dopamine

  • and hopefully to inspire you guys to do the same.

  • So here are the rules.

  • For the next 7 days I won't be allowed to consume the following things.

  • No social media. I deleted all social media apps from my phone

  • and I won't be able to access these sites on my laptop as well.

  • No digital entertainment.

  • I'm not allowed to watch TV or Netflix and I can't play any videogames.

  • No junk food. Which means that I can't eat any unhealthy food like chips or sweets.

  • Regarding beverages, I will only drink water,

  • so also no Coke Zero.

  • No alcohol and drugs,

  • no porn and no music.

  • This is something I wanted to try for myself

  • because I'm constantly listening to music and I never really have a moment of silence.

  • So, now as the rules were set,

  • I was ready to embark on this journey.

  • Enjoying the last coke.

  • I'm gonna miss it.

  • I'm ready to go,

  • and I'm looking forward to the next couple of days,

  • and I hope that I'm going to see some real benefits coming from this.

  • Let's go!

  • Unlike many of my other mornings,

  • this one was without music.

  • Instead of grabbing my phone right away and playing a random song,

  • I started my day in silence.

  • Hey.

  • Come on, this is like the cutest dog ever, right?

  • Alright, yeah, I'm just going for a walk here and...

  • To be honest, it feels great. I'm already loving it.

  • I haven't really kept up my routine for the last 30 days that I was here on Mallorca.

  • It's always a little bit difficult if you switch location,

  • so I didn't go for any walks, I didn't do any workouts

  • and all that kind of stuff, so it was definitely a goal to get it going again.

  • When I came back home, I said hi to the other dogs

  • and made myself cereals with milk for breakfast.

  • Instead of watching YouTube videos while having breakfast,

  • I basically did nothing...

  • Which was kinda boring.

  • After that, it was time for work.

  • In the next hours, I reviewed a script for my notion workflow video

  • and planned the shortlist for the intro of this video.

  • I pretty quickly started to get into a good flow

  • because my phone was still at the side of my bed.

  • I didn't see any good use in having it with me as I couldn't access social media or listen to music,

  • so I just focused on my work and got a lot of things done.

  • After that it was time for a good old Spanish lunch with fuet and tortilla.

  • Spanish food is the best.

  • First thing I noticed when I came into the car: there was music running.

  • I immediately turned it off, but it's just so weird to drive without music.

  • I normally listen to music all the time, especially when I'm driving in the car.

  • Today I'm not going to listen to anything.

  • Next up, I went to the supermarket where I bought a ton of chocolate bars

  • in order to shoot the intro of this video.

  • So, as you can hear, there is music running here.

  • There's just nothing I can do. That doesn't count as my fault here.

  • When I came back home, I filmed all the different b-rool footage for the intro and the fridge scene,

  • which turned out to be a lot funnier than expected.

  • This is definitely the most stupid intro I've ever filmed.

  • I'm not actually eating the chocolate.

  • So, the day is getting to an end,

  • the sun is already setting back here

  • and yeah, it has been a successful day to be honest.

  • Overall, I felt very very focused today,

  • because there were just no distractions that could pull me out of my flow.

  • Yeah, I got a lot of things done. I reviewed a script and sent it out to a client,

  • I shot the whole intro of this video and a lot of additional b-roll.

  • I just felt super super productive today.

  • So, you might wonder why would you do a dopamine detox,

  • and the thing is that for the last one or two weeks I've been feeling really off.

  • I was just not focused, I didn't have any motivation to create videos,

  • I didn't want to stand in front of a camera and I was super indecisive.

  • Like, I thought at least 10 times if I should shoot this video

  • or if I should push it back and shoot it later.

  • That's when I thought like "okay, I've got to get rid of all of these distractions

  • and I have to focus on the things that I actually want to get done".

  • And the dopamine detox doesn't mean that you're going to detox from all kinds of dopamine.

  • Like, my dopamine level is hopefully going to stay consistent,

  • but what I'm focusing on are all of the external factors,

  • like social media, like alcohol and all the other things

  • that just create those impulsive behaviours.

  • Like, everybody knows when you're just sitting on the toilet and suddenly...

  • You just have your phone open with Instagram and you're like "how did I get here?",

  • and that's just the thing. Like, as soon as we get a lot of dopamine from one source,

  • then our brain just rewires

  • and we have these impulsive behaviours where we don't even think about it,

  • but we just do it right away, automatically,

  • because our brain tells us "okay, I'm going to get a lot of dopamine from there,

  • so I'm going to do it".

  • And that's something I definitely want to get rid of. I want to control my own decisions

  • and control my own actions and yeah,

  • that's why I'm going to do detox from these sources

  • in order to just see what kind of benefits they bring me and hopefully to do it in long term.

  • The sun is set, the birds are still out and...

  • I still have a couple of hours to kill for today

  • and I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do yet.

  • I don't know what's wrong with this dog.

  • She just has so much energy.

  • Bad news.

  • All of my cereals are empty.

  • Actually, I wanted to just eat a couple of those ones instead for breakfast,

  • but I'm going to stick to Spanish food again.

  • I want one of those really bad right now.

  • You're not gonna get anything!

  • I'd say that the second day was just as productive as the day before.

  • I spent all day long editing on a YouTube video where I made a lot more progress than usual

  • and most importantly, I really enjoyed to edit again.

  • It felt like the motivation that I had been missing for these past weeks was finally back.

  • So, for the majority of the day I've been editing my video on how I learned to fly FPV.

  • I made some real progress there and now I'm actually gonna get out and do a workout

  • in order to get back to my daily routine

  • and stay fit.

  • Honestly, sport without any music...

  • Kind of sucks.

  • Do you know what's the funniest thing about this dog?

  • That he's just like one big muscle and he can't relax at all.

  • Look at this!

  • He's just always under pressure!

  • Right?

  • Say hello!

  • Hello!

  • I love this dog.

  • When it comes to food, I had the huge advantage that my stepmother is really talented at cooking,

  • so in the evenings I always had very healthy and tasty meals.

  • The evenings after dinner were usually the time when the boredom kicked in,

  • and instead of working another few hours on my videos in order to escape that boredom,

  • I decided to play with the animals and started to watch more and more sunsets,

  • which really helped me to slow things down and be more mindful.

  • So, I just watched the sun go down and...

  • Yeah, to be honest, I'm feeling super present.

  • I'm always just like listening to the birds and not having any distractions.

  • That's just like...

  • It's so liberating, because...

  • Normally I would obviously take out my phone all the time to capture everything,

  • and right now it's just like...

  • A moment of calm.

  • So right now it's 5:40 a.m.

  • This is much earlier than I normally get up,

  • but today...

  • I'm gonna go for sunrise because I want to fly my FPV drone.

  • Let's do this.

  • Currently on the way to the viewpoint.

  • I haven't been here before to be honest.

  • I think it's gonna be a good sunrise.

  • Look at that drop going down here.

  • This is epic, hey!

  • I think the sun is coming up in a minute,

  • I think we have the perfect timing.

  • Look at that.

  • Let's go!

  • To be honest, I've always struggled with dedicating my time to new hobbies.

  • I never got started with flying an FPV drone

  • because I thought that it would take too long to learn it, and...

  • I wouldn't have time for my other work.

  • But, as I didn't spend any time watching Netflix or scrolling through my phone,

  • I was able to replace those toxic activities with things that I always wanted to do,

  • like flying my FPV drone.

  • Being up in the air, cruising through this beautiful landscape, I felt super excited.

  • Not only because I was flying with more than 70 km/h through trees,

  • but because I finally prioritized my time in the right way and engaged in a new hobby.

  • So, I just finished my flight.

  • If you've been watching my last videos,

  • you know that I am currently practicing on learning how to fly FPV,

  • and yeah, it's going well so far and...

  • I'm definitely making some progress here.

  • Amazing location, one of my favourite spots on Mallorca.

  • There are just so many cliffs and trees and everything,

  • And... yeah.

  • I don't know, I don't really go often for sunrises anymore,

  • because I'm always too lazy, but I have to say...

  • It's 100% worth it all the time.

  • Hey!

  • Hi!

  • Look who's been waiting for me.

  • So, the bad thing about all of these instant gratification sources

  • is that you can very very easily get addicted to them,

  • and I definitely saw that happening in my own life with many of those.

  • Like, I was addicted to videogames when I was 15, where I played like 6 to 7 hours a day.

  • I definitely had an unhealthy relationship with alcohol and also with social media,

  • and as I just realized that all of these different things

  • don't contribute to the things I want to pursue in my own life,

  • I really decided to make some drastic changes,

  • and that's why I didn't play any videogames for the last 5 years.

  • I stopped eating any junk food at all for like two years now, I think?

  • Like, I don't eat any sweets but I just replace them with fruits, which is a lot more healthy.

  • Also, I definitely improved my relationship with alcohol and also with social media.

  • And especially during Covid times,

  • when you're locked at home and you don't have many things to do,

  • then it just becomes a lot easier to get drawn back into that vicious cycle,

  • and I also saw that happening for myself.

  • For example, with social media.

  • I did a social media detox one year ago,

  • and I honestly remember it as some of the best times that I had,

  • because I was just feeling so present

  • and I was just feeling purely alive in those 30 days without any social media.

  • And after I finished this detox, I decided to not use any social media on Sundays

  • and had some different rules and all that kind of stuff, but...

  • Eventually, as time progressed,

  • I stopped paying attention to them

  • and I also got back to spending a lot of time on social media,

  • which is something I don't want to do.

  • To be honest, this is something I'm always trying to work on every single day,

  • to get rid of these bad habits and to take a distance from all of these things

  • that can make me addicted in a bad way.

  • Keep your distance to these things. Like, everything is alright if you do it in balance,

  • but as soon as you do it all of the time,

  • then you don't have the ability to make your own decisions anymore.

  • I've been editing on my FPV video and recording voice-overs for it all day long,

  • and yeah, normally I watch YouTube videos of other creators

  • when I have lunch or in the evening,

  • but as I didn't do that for the last days, I really feel like there is some weight

  • lifted off my shoulders, because I don't have to compare myself with those other creators,

  • and my videos are okay just the way they are.

  • That really helps me...

  • Kind of like get into a flow and move forward with my own projects

  • without thinking too much about if they should be a certain way and all that kind of stuff.

  • And also I'm feeling a little bit more creative at the moment, so that's really good.

  • But I think it's enough work for today, I need to get some motion and do some sports,

  • and that's why I'm gonna go for a run now.

  • Let's go.

  • Also, running without any music,

  • I actually enjoy it because you can focus so much better on your breath

  • and also you just take in all of the things around you

  • instead of, like, just being in your own world.

  • I wasn't only able to notice my surroundings while running,

  • but actually during every moment along the way.

  • Before I started this detox, I was so self-absorbed that my mind was constantly occupied

  • with everything else besides the actual things happening around me.

  • I would think about a social media post that I saw an hour ago while talking to a friend,

  • or be lost in a song instead of listening to the birds.

  • But the less time I spent bombarding my brain with those short-term dopamine hits,

  • the more I was able to drown out the noise and embrace the present moment.

  • I felt like my brain had some sort of reset.

  • So, I'm currently on the way to one of my favourite sunset spots in the area here.

  • It's called San Salvador, which is a small mountain.

  • I'm actually just going there to enjoy the sunset,

  • take a couple of drone shots and...

  • Just have a good time, that's all!

  • I don't know why, but I'm just falling in love with sunsets and sunrises again.

  • Overall, I really feel that my mental clarity immensely improved, because...

  • I just don't hop from one activity to the next one,

  • but I give my brain some time to actually process all of the experiences I take in,

  • and therefore I'm overall just more calm and settled.

  • And actually also a friend of mine, with whom I Skyped last night,

  • he also told me by himself "dude, you're a lot more calm than normally",

  • like "what's happening?".

  • So yeah, I definitely enjoy it so far because all of my thoughts are just ordered

  • and I'm not distracted that much.

  • And it just feels like I experience everything twice as intensive as before,

  • because I'm just in the moment and not always on my phone

  • thinking about the next Instagram post or Instagram story,

  • and I'm just spending all of my time in my life and not in somebody else's, which is really nice.

  • So... I'm currently making my way to the beach.

  • I didn't swim in the ocean this year so far, so I thought today would be the day,

  • and that's why I'm gonna make use of it.

  • This is going to be good.

  • So, my dopamine detox is slowly coming to an end

  • and I have to say that I really enjoyed those last couple of days.

  • Obviously there were some temptations here and there,

  • and sometimes I also felt bored, especially in the evenings

  • when I just didn't have anything to do.

  • I couldn't watch Netflix, I couldn't go on social media,

  • but I just compensated for that time by Skyping with my friends,

  • which is a pretty good alternative to social media to be honest.

  • And I just feel like you have to escape that constant stimulus that we have...

  • In our modern world in order to just zoom out

  • and to reflect on where you're at at the moment, in order to...

  • Just see everything objectively and in order to make changes.

  • And I really feel that I was able to do that by just having these moments of boredom.

  • I think that they are necessary

  • and that everything around us is kind of holding us back from having them.

  • So yeah, I really enjoyed this detox

  • and I hope that I can keep up the benefits for a couple more days or weeks,

  • and hopefully I'll also make some changes for my overall life.

  • Right now, the only thing I've got to do...

  • Is jump in the ocean.

  • So, what do I take away from these last 7 days?

  • Well, things like junk food, alcohol and porn were pretty easy to avoid.

  • Other things like social media and music were a lot harder for me.

  • Driving without any music is...

  • Fucking boring.

  • But from one day to another, I noticed more and more benefits coming from this detox.

  • First off, I was able to restore my daily routine by going for walks and working out.

  • That walk felt amazing.

  • As my brain was not constantly overwhelmed by so many dopamine hits from external sources,

  • I was able to replace those toxic activities

  • with things that actually make me feel present and alive.

  • I don't know why, but I'm just falling in love with sunsets and sunrises again.

  • I was able to focus my time on the things which bring me fulfillment,

  • like working on my business, doing sports or learning a new hobby.

  • I normally needed a lot of motivation in order to get started with those activities,

  • but from time to time they kind of became effortless.

  • 5:40 a.m.

  • Let's do this.

  • I not only became more productive and focused,

  • but I overall feel like everything around me started to slow down.

  • Can you see how fast the clouds are moving?

  • It's insane.

  • Not having all of these distractions at my fingertips allowed me to finally catch a breath

  • and wipe my mind clean of any stressful thoughts.

  • These 7 days really showed me once again

  • how much noise we usually expose ourselves to on a daily basis.

  • It was mind-opening to see how lowering our excessive consumption

  • can improve so many aspects of our lives

  • and therefore our overall happiness.

  • I think that a detox like this can help everyone to see what it's like to live without this noise

  • and it is the first step to gain back control over your own life.

  • So, try it for yourself.

Let's talk about dopamine.

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